INEOS Automotive has opened a state-of-the-art biomass heating plant at its Hambach production site. With an output of 9.2 megawatts, the €15 million facility will supply 78% of the site’s heating requirements. The plant is fuelled by up to 14,000 tonnes of locally and sustainably sourced woodchips each year, helping reduce the plant’s CO2 emissions by an estimated 8,800 tonnes annually.
“Our ongoing investment in Hambach means our Grenadier and Quartermaster models are built to world-class quality standards, and in an environmentally sustainable factory, for export to over 50 sales markets around the world. We’re very proud of the advanced facilities and its exceptional workforce, which together make it one of the most advanced automotive production sites in Europe.”
Lynn Calder, CEO INEOS Automotive
Since 2019, INEOS has invested nearly €540 million into the Hambach site. In that time, the facility has seen major upgrades, including a fully-automated body shop, a semi-automated paintshop, a quality inspection lab, and even a wading pool for water ingress testing. The footprint of the site has grown by over 60% to 210,000 square metres which has obviously increased the heating demand quite significantly.
“The new biomass plant is the latest in a longstanding and ongoing programme of sustainability-driven initiatives at Hambach. It was critical for us to increase our sustainable energy capacity to meet our growing consumption as the site expands.”
Philippe Steyer, President of INEOS Automotive SAS
The new system uses two boilers with a combined thermal output of 8.4 MW, linked to an 800 kW heat pump. An existing gas boiler will provide supplementary heating as needed. Waste ash from the biomass process will be repurposed as fertiliser, closing the loop in an efficient and eco-friendly way.
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